The Road
by Zombie-Elvis
Summary: It hurts. Alya knows, and it hurts. But who is the one hurt? Angst, blood and violence, and language. (First fanfic ever, super excited to get it out there)
1. Hell

The road to hell is short and paved with painful memories. The ones that keep you awake at night, paralyzed in fear. The ones you'd beg and plead to with whoever or whatever you believed in to forget. The ones that changed who you are, that molded you into the person you see everyday in the mirror.

She had plenty of those memories. Mostly they were from bad fights with friends, or emotional events like break ups or her parents finally splitting up. Some, however, were different.

One in particular she would trade every memory she had to forget.

When your best friend turns out to be a superhero- that you not only had been documenting, but that you'd had a huge crush on- you begin to notice things. You notice the bruises and cuts. The scars. The bags under their eyes from when they were up all night the day before keeping you and the whole of Paris safe.

The way they cover everything up with lies, clothes, and a bit of strategically placed concealer. You see parts of them that you'd been blind to before.

"Alya, are you okay?" A voice asked from somewhere to her left.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Why, what's up?" She asked, looking toward Nino.

"Well, there's an akuma loose, and you're not running to catch coverage of it." He pointed out, smiling. "Although, it looks like it may be an easy one, Dude."

Alya's eyes grew wide as she realized where that meant her best friend was.

She burst into motion, unlocking her phone and grabbing her bag before heading through the door at a breakneck pace. Hopefully she wouldn't need the first aid kit she has packed away in the front pocket of her bag.

Nino trailed close behind her as they emerged from their school, and she quickly decided to drag him with her towards a turned over car.

The scene around them would be considered breathtaking if it weren't so terrifying. Light glittered off of metal poles that stuck out from the sides of nearby buildings- _giant sewing needles_ she soon realized, as she tracked the wires of thread attached to them with her eyes. The wires formed a giant spider web like structure, with two figures near the center.

Alya looked straight at the figures, one of them clearly the akuma victim. The victim, a brown haired girl in a dress made of a myriad of different fabrics patched together, looked absolutely enraged with the boy clad in leather in front of her.

Chat Noir's figure was wrapped up like a bug in a cocoon, his face comfortably set in a grin. "I've heard of cat cradles, but this seems a bit ridiculous, don't you think Seamstress?" He asks.

The villain lets out a frustrated scream, preparing her needles as she orders, "JUST GIVE ME YOUR MIRACULOUS. _I_ DID THE WORK, _I_ DESERVE IT!"

Alya looked around, expecting to see Mari- _Ladybug,_ but not spotting her anywhere. Either she was already caught (oh please, no), or she hadn't been able to transform yet.

Just as that thought had crossed her mind, Alya and Nino watched on in awe as Ladybug launched herself off of one of the threads towards the Seamstress. With her yo-yo already aimed to hit the akuma, everyone present thought it would be over pretty quickly.

They had thought wrong.

The akuma turned to face Ladybug, sneering as she launched the already prepared needles towards the heroine. Ladybug dodged the first of them, but was not fast enough to not be hit by the second.

The metal pierced through her shoulder, threading through her easily as if she were fabric. It dragged her along with its momentum, slamming her back against the building it anchored itself to, effectively knocking the scream from her lungs as she was pinned, helpless after having dropped her yo-yo when hit.

Alya watched on in horror, screams sounding from all around her as the Seamstress advanced towards her best friend.

"Fine, you can give yours to me first, I'm sure Hawkmoth wouldn't mind."

Blood could be seen dripping down the wall Ladybug had been pinned to. Even so, the spotted heroine smirked. It looked more like a grimace. "Take it if you think you earned it."

The akuma victim growled, lunging at Ladybug before being hit in the face with a flying baton.

Alya's head whipped around as she looked at Chat Noir, who was in the process of freeing himself. "Sorry my Lady, you know how much cats love yarn!"

"Be careful not to choke up a hairball, Kitten. It's in her bracelet!" "Got it!"

Finally freeing himself, he launched off of the web as Ladybug had done earlier, going straight for the Seamstress's arms.

She screamed as the cat boy ripped the bracelet from her wrist, throwing it towards his partner.

Ladybug caught it, preparing to smash it against the wall she was pinned to, as another needle pierced through her stomach.

The scream that Chat Noir released was full of emotions: fear for the safety of his Lady, rage at Hawkmoth, and hopelessness as he watched Ladybug's body slump, being held to the building by the two needles protruding from the building.

Alya thought fast, running to stomp on the now discarded bracelet. She stomped hard, releasing the anger and fear she had experienced while watching her friend be impaled _twice._ This released the dark butterfly from its prison.

"Chat! FIX THIS NOW!" Alya ordered over the sound of the screaming akuma victim who was realizing that she had lost.

Chat Noir quickly grabbed Ladybugs yo-yo from the ground where it had been left after her first injury, and used it to catch the akuma. "I hope this works," he whispered in a broken voice as he threw the yo-yo into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug." He choked out.

In seconds the streets were blanketed in red, fixing any problems the akuma had caused.

Ladybug was released from the wall, falling two stories into Chat's waiting arms.

He took off quickly, carrying the fallen girl like a bride. The sight of unconscious Marinette in ladybugs torn up costume being etched into Alya's mind forever.

The road to hell was short, just a few steps outside of the school Alya attended everyday. It would always be stained in her best friends blood to her, and no amount of begging could fix that.


	2. Returned

Alya waited nervously outside the school, looking for her best friend. She had half a mind to go get her from her house, just to see if the cure worked on her like it did on everyone else.

What surprised her was seeing Marinette and Adrien walking together- albeit rather slowly- down the road towards the school together. Adrien was holding Marinette's bag, and she was laughing at a joke he must've just told.

Now, Alya was suspicious. She knew that Marinette was Ladybug, but Ladybug had been taken away by Chat Noir yesterday. And now, suddenly Marinette was talking with Adrien? That could only mean one thing.

Adrien was Chat Noir.

Alya had thought this before, even going as far as to present a picture that was photoshopped of Adrien to Marinette, who quickly denied that that could even be a possibility.

Boy she must feel stupid now.

Alya then realized that now wasn't the time to be thinking about how dumb Marinette must feel, but if she was hurt still from the Akuma yesterday.

 _How does one ask your superhero friend if they're hurt without giving away the fact that you know who they are?_

Marinette and Adrien finally got close enough to greet her good morning, and Alya watched as Marinette tried to retrieve her bag from the boy next to her. He didn't budge, just engaged Alya in conversation as if what was going on with Marinette wasn't happening.

"Alya, I heard about yesterday! How weren't you scared? It looked so dangerous, I think I'd run screaming if I saw all that." He said, and Marinette coughed, trying to cover her laugh.

Alya looked between the two, assessing their relationship. "I don't think you would. Anyone would do what they could to save the Heros of Paris, myself included. I saw that Chat Noir and Ladybug were having problems, and I did what I could. I sure hope the cure fixed everything." Alya said, pointedly looking at her short friend who winced.

"Uh, yeah, I hope so too." Adrien said, glancing at his partner.

"I'm sure she is just fine, she's a hero after all." Marinette said, her tone giving away her feelings of annoyance at being babied by Adrien.

"Well, I'm sure wherever she is, that Chat Noir is making her feel like royalty." Alya said, and looked between the two.

"Yeah, I hope he's treating her like a princess." Adrien replied, grinning at his little inside joke as Marinette rolled her eyes.

"I bet he's-" Marinette started, just as Nino walked up and clapped Adrien on the back.

"Hey man, what's up? Why are you holding Mari's bag?" Nino asked, looking at his small friend.

Adrien thought quickly, and blurted "Uh, we just started dating, actually." He then winced, realizing that he hadn't asked permission and had just put Marinette into an awkward position.

"Really? Finally bro! I've been waiting for that ship to sail for months! Alya, this is such great news!" Nino cheered, putting his arm around the reporter, who was watching the new 'couple' with a mix of curiosity and suspicion.

Marinette was bright red, and had just come back into herself after a short out of body experience. "Y-yeah! We got together last night, actually. I told him how I felt and he said he l-liked me back, and so…. Here we are!" Marinette said, moving to put her arm around his waist.

Adrien's face got redder, if that was even possible, as he put his arm over her shoulder. His left hand now held her bag so that he wouldn't accidentally jostle any leftover injuries.

"Cool man! Now we can go on double dates and stuff, it'll be totally awesome!" Nino said, leaning in to give Alya a kiss on the cheek before the bell rang and they all headed inside.

"So, do you think Ladybug is okay?" Nino asked as they were entering the classroom. He passed by his regular spot to take Marinette's old one, forcing her to sit with her new 'boyfriend'.

"We were just talking about that, actually. Weren't we, Mari?" Alya asked, leaning forward on her desk. Marinette stiffened, and nodded. "Yeah, I think she's probably fine. The cure seems to heal everyone, right?"

Nino nodded, crossing his arms and bringing his right hand to his chin. "Hm, I'm sure you're right…" He said, just as Mme Bustier entered the classroom.

Alya decided that she would wait for her friend to tell her her secret, and until then she would do her best to protect her superhero friends in whatever way she could. She owed them that much.

Xxxxxx

About a week later, Alya was on her way towards another akuma attack when she spotted an older man walking as quickly the other way as he could.

Making a split decision, she ran towards him. "Sir, do you need any help getting to safety?"

"Oh, yes please miss." He said, smiling up at her. She returned it, and gently grabbed his arm around his red hawaiian-esque shirt, and slowly led him towards a shop that she knew was fairly safe usually.

"In here. I've hidden here before, it's pretty safe. Stay low and out of sight." Alya instructed, getting ready to go back out to catch the last part of the battle for her blog, and to make sure her friends were alright.

A firm hand wrapped around her arm, surprising her. "You're going back out?" He asked, surprising her with his small smile. Why wasn't he concerned for her like most adults were?

"Yes, I have a job to do." "Stay safe." He ordered gently, and released her.

She nodded, and took off running, catching the fist bump that signified the defeat of an akuma. While a little sad she missed it, she was glad to see her friends were okay.

((Author's note: I hope you guys like this. I thought long and hard about making this a series, and now I am hoping it's an adventure we all can enjoy. Thanks for reading, please tell me if there are any errors.))


	3. Squad Goals

She loved watching the lovesick dorks, even if they were pushed together under less than stellar circumstances.

It was after school the day after the last attack, and the group was having their first double date.

Marinette was beautiful, as always in Alya's opinion, sporting a flowing white sundress that stopped right before her knees. It had an empire waist and a sweetheart neckline and the pattern of little ladybugs and flowers was so fitting that it had taken all Alya had not to snort at it. She could only assume any bruises Marinette had left over from the fight were either hidden with clothing or concealer.

She guessed that Marinette was doing this as a joke, or that she and Adrien had planned it, because he was wearing a black Polo shirt that had a neon green paw print on the pocket that matched the color of his board shorts. They made a handsome couple.

Nino and Alya watched on as Mari talked animatedly about a new design she was working on, and Adrien would cut in to explain it when she started talking too fast or she used jargon that no one else would understand.

It was cute how they balanced each other out Alya thought, because it meant that there would always be some sort of support system for each of her best friends. She only hoped that they didn't build off of each other in the wrong way.

The check arrived, and she reached for it before it was swiped away from her.

"Hey!" She shouted, laughing.

"Nuh-uh, I asked everyone here, I'm paying." Adrien said, grinning as he deposited his card into the carrier before it was taken away by the waitress.

Once it was returned, the group waved goodbye, splitting into two as the couples walked their respective ways.

"Man, they're so cute together. I'm so happy for them." Nino said, smiling down at his girlfriend.

"I am too, Nino. They are just perfect together." Alya replied, and put her arm around his shoulder- a little awkwardly with the height difference at all. Her shoes weren't the best for standing on her tippy toes.

"I'll catch you tomorrow then, babe." Nino said as they arrived at her house, kissing her cheek goodbye.

"See you on the flip side." Alya joked back before returning his cheek kiss and going inside.

After greeting her mother and a couple of her siblings, Alya went up to her room. She shared it with her youngest sister, who currently was in the kitchen with her mother.

The teen flopped down onto her bed, on top of something hard and pointy. Groaning, she reached behind her to pick out what she thought was a toy when she realized it was a box. A very old looking box that had something like chinese orthography on it.

Her curiosity peaked, Alya slowly opened the box to reveal a necklace that had what looked like a fox tail pendent on the end. She grabbed it, having just fastened it around her neck when something started to happen.

In front of her stood- er, floated- a tiny creature that couldn't have been more than 6 inches tall. It had tiny fangs, sly eyes, a fox like tail, and ears that flattened against its head when she screamed in horror and surprise.

"Hey, quit that! First of all, that hurts, and second, do you want your parents coming in to find me?" The little thing said in a masculine voice.

Alya stopped, her eyes wide as she moved to sit her back against the wall. "Y-you? W-what ARE you?" She said, sounding a bit like marinette when she used to talk to adrien, except a lot less shy and a lot more scared to death.

The thing rolled it's eyes. "I'm Karre, and I'm a Kwami. Congratulations. You're a new miraculous holder. Whooopee."

"What does that even mean?" Alya hissed, scooching forward more in order to inspect the kwami. "What are kwami?"

"Kwami are guardians of their miraculous stones, and are basically gods. Don't make the comment about size, I know it's shocking but that line gets old after the first person who says it. Like, 5000 years old." Karre said, crossing their arms over their chest.

"So, let's get down to business. That necklace you have on is your miraculous stone. With it, you have the ability to transform into what I believe you call a superhero. That only happens because I lend my powers to you through the stone. You with me so far?" Alya nodded, realization slowly dawning on her.

"Okay, great. My powers are of illusion; forming them, manipulating them, and seeing through them. There is a special power-" "like lucky charm?" Alya interrupted.

"Great, Tikki is active. Yes, like lucky charm kind of. Except ours is a bit different. Since I can manipulate illusions and what people believe, so can you for a short time. Using your weapon, a flute, you can effectively change a part of reality for a short amount of time. You can make people perceive that they are going faster or slower, make them think that gravity isn't real, that kind of thing. But I warn you, this isn't permanent, and it isn't meant to be used for evil. Got that kid? Don't be selfish."

Alya nodded, listening intently to take it all in.

"Also, after that illusion is up you have five minutes until the transformation is too."

"Got it."

"Good. Any questions?" Karre asked, their mood a little better at having a competent charge who wasn't still freaking out- at least externally.

Alya waited for a second before nodding. "I've got two. How do I transform, and how do I get around while transformed if my weapon is a flute?"

Karre actually smiled at her. "All you say is 'transforme moi'. As for transportation, you just have to believe that gravity has less affect on you, and it a shall be true for you. You just have to believe it, and realize that no one else can do it with you without you having used your illusion diffusion."

Alya snorted.

"I know, it's what my previous charge called it. You can change it if you'd like."

"Nah, I have a feeling Paris will love it. Or at least my boyfriend will. Alright, so let's do this. Transforme moi!" Alya called out, and was blinded by orange light until she was standing in her bedroom in a super suit. "Wow." She breathed, and grinned.

xxxxxx

She started testing how to fly after having locked the door, and had gotten to the point where she could levitate and move successfully without falling before she unlocked her window and jumped out.

Her stomach bottomed out as she fell, and she quickly decided that yes, maybe this hadn't been such a great idea. She believed she might just die, and then remembered that she had to believe that gravity didn't affect her as much.

This caused her to shoot up into the air without control, her scream being caught in the wind.

She was working to find a good median while clinging to the side of a building by a balcony, when an object shot passed her and then she felt a force around her middle.

She just barely had time to think oh shit before she was being dragged towards the direction that the object had originated from.

Alya looked down at the figure that had her tethered like a balloon about to float away. "Uh, hi." She greeted, lamely.

Ladybug stared at her, hard. "Who are you?" Her tone was as cold as ice and as demanding as her mother's when she was telling the kids not to hit each other.

Alya flinched, and then smiled at her. "Er, I'm Volpina?" Alya supplied, deciding not to give away her real identity and then realizing she'd named herself after a previous akuma instead. Oops.

"I'm a miraculous holder. My kwami, Karre told me how to use my powers. I'm just testing them." Alya said, slowly bringing herself back to the ground.

Still suspicious even though she knew about the kwamis, Ladybug retracted her yoyo. "Well. I'm Ladybug, and I'm sorry for catching you off guard." She said.

"It looked like you were fly fishing, my lady. I must say, though, that you're the catch of the day. I'm pawsitive." Chat Noir said as he arrived, walking to Ladybug's side.

Alya and Ladybug rolled their eyes in unison. "Who are you?" He asked, smiling at the new hero, but taking a slightly protective stance in front of Ladybug.

Alya sighed, about to fill him in when his partner interrupted. "She claims to be a miraculous holder named Volpina. She knows about the kwamis."

Chat nodded thoughtfully. "What does your kwami look like? What do they do? Where are they now?" He asked, daring her to lie to him with his eyes.

"They look like a six inch tall fox that would be in a disney film. They currently are in my miraculous stone, which you know because I'm standing in front of you. And they lecture me. That's all I've had the pleasure to know so far." She responded, and Chat stared at her for a bit longer before nodding his head.

Ladybug shared a look with him, and nodded. "Let's go see what you can do. Any funny business and I'll kick your butt so fast you won't be able to say 'miraculous'." She said and Alya gave a curt nod.

Ladybug motioned for Volpina to go first, not trusting the new girl as far as she could throw her. Chat followed behind Ladybug as they made their way across the rooftops of Paris, watching the new hero learn to produce illusions while floating at the same time.

It was interesting to watch, but the hours they were out together were quiet and filled with tension.

By the end of the night, patrol had been completed with Alya leading and looking from the air to see if there was anything going on. Aside from the new hero, everything was pretty anticlimactic.

Alya landed on the roof next to the duo, wobbling a bit, and smiled. "So, how was it?"

Ladybug and Chat Noir looked at each other, and Chat nodded slightly.

"You seem to be learning fast, and you don't act like an akuma-"

"especially because akuma don't have to learn their powers." Chat piped in.

"-so you seem to be alright. But that doesn't mean we won't be watching you, and we don't trust you just yet." Ladybug finished, her arms crossed over her chest.

"So, what we see during the next akuma attack, or over the next couple patrols will tell us if you're in or not. But so far, it's looking good." Ladybug said, looking Alya in the eye and smiling.

Alya smiled back, partially because of excitement and partially because of the fact that Marinette looked so in her element here that it made her proud.

"I understand."

"Perfect. I gotta go now, but we will be in touch. See you later Chat." Ladybug said with a wink, smiling at him and then took off on her yoyo.

Chat turned to her, nodded with a wave, and took off in the opposite direction that Ladybug had gone.

Alya couldn't wait to be accepted into their squad. She wanted to start protecting them as best as she could.

She didn't ever want to see Marinette's blood on the street again. If Alya had any say in the matter, she wouldn't.


End file.
